I like people to commend me. Sometimes I even try to do or say things that will cause people to commend me. That (in my view) is almost as bad as commending myself.

At times, though, the commendation and approval I receive has no value. Because I do not deserve it.

But what about this:

“For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth” (2 Corinthians 10:18).

Just how much do I want His approval?

And what am I willing to do and be in order to gain it?

I wonder if anything I did or said or was yesterday “earned” God’s commendation.

“Your zeal hath provoked very many” (2 Corinthians 9:2).

Hmmm. I wonder how the Spanish 1960 Reina-Valera renders that verse portion . . . . “Your zeal has stimulated the majority.” Not significantly different.

These folks had a zeal for “ministering to the saints” (1).

What am I zealous about? Maybe I have become so laid back that nothing drives me or gets me worked up (in a positive way).

If I am zealous about something, does God approve? Or does He yearn for me to be zealous about something else?

Furthermore, what effect is my zeal having on others? Are they choosing what I am choosing because they see my commitment to it?

These are difficult questions for me to face.

And important questions, too!